Louisville Cardinals vs. Kentucky Wildcats
The Kentucky Wildcats were undoubtedly one of the potential favorites to win the national title in college basketball in the 2015-16 season, but two losses in their first 11 games has made some a bit skeptical. John Calipari and his Wildcats can set the ship straight with a rivalry win on Saturday against Rick Pitino and the Louisville Cardinals inside Rupp Arena.
Two of the best scoring guards in the country to this point in the year in Louisville’s Damion Lee and Kentucky’s Jamal Murray will face off on Wednesday. However, it could be the players like Tyler Ullis and Skal Labissiere for the Wildcats and Trey Lewis and Chinanu Onuaku for the Cardinals that ultimately for the deciding factor as to who emerges as the victor in this rivalry matchup.
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Details for Saturday’s game are below:
Date: Saturday, Dec. 26
Start Time: Noon ET
Location: Lexington, KY
Arena: Rupp Arena
TV Info: CBS
Live Stream: CBS Sports College Basketball Live
Radio: Here
Keys to Victory
Two things have to happen for Kentucky in this game if they are going to pick up the win. For one, Skal Labissiere can’t afford to no-show, something that’s happened in each of their two losses. The freshman big man has to be assertive on both eneds of the floor, but particularly on the defensive end where he can truly be a game-changer. Secondly, the other Wildcats role players have to contribute in terms of scoring, particularly the likes of Tyler Ullis and Alex Poythress, in addition to Jamal Murray staying red hot.
For Louisville, it will be vitally important for them to remain one of the best defensive teams in college basketball against a potentially potent offense. The Cardinals have tremendous length, size, and depth throughout their roster. Moreover, they have an experience advantage over the Wildcats and, in a big rivalry game, they must capitalize on that by playing as mistake-free as possible and forcing Kentucky’s youth into succumbing to the moment.
Betting Odds
Point Spread: Kentucky -2.5
Moneyline: Kentucky -145, Louisville +120
O/U: 141.5
Prediction
Though this hasn’t been the case throughout the entire season—as evidenced by their two losses—Kentucky can just beat people based on talent on almost any night out on the hardwood. Even in a big rivalry game where things have been known to get a bit wild, I think that the Wildcats will just have too much to throw at Louisville and that Pitino’s men won’t be able to handle it.
Final Score: Louisville Cardinals: 75, Kentucky Wildcats: 81